‘Let us be grateful to people who
make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom’ –
Marcel Proust.
One of
the main reasons I started blogging was because I needed some sense of
connection. I was living at a small distance from my parents and siblings, yet
I craved friends, you know, people you can just ‘hang’ with. All my old friends
were in other cities or countries, and I was a stay-at-home-Mom with little or
no social life.
And I got
exactly what I wanted. Blogging has helped me connect with talented people from
around the world, literally. And not just connect, I can even call some of them
my friends, and not just the Facebook variety that you wish Happy Birthday and
forget for the rest of the year. These are people with whom I can have
meaningful conversations, and who give a lot of encouragement and support when
needed.
One of my
closest online friends is Swarnali, who I first came across via Tripthi’s blog, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. Swarnali blogs at 'Dreams and Drama' and I like to
think that we hit it off instantly :). Like Swarnali says, we’ve never seen or
spoken to each other, but that doesn’t matter in today’s world, does it? We’ve
had numerous Facebook discussions on books (she’s a voracious reader), blogs,
trolls and much more!
Swarnali
is also the one who introduced me to the ‘Indiblogeshwari’ group on Facebook, a
group exclusively for female bloggers which was started by the I-don’t-know-how-to-describe-her-she’s-that-awesome Vinita Bahl, blogger at
Blogwati G :). As you can imagine, that makes it super fun!! See, that’s how
friends are, they have a pretty good idea what you’d like!!
The
extremely cool admins of the group introduced the Chain Mail activity, where a
group member tags another person in the group and sends her a gift and
handwritten note (hand written – compulsory!). The receiver then tags another
and the chain continues. The only condition was that you couldn’t tag a person
living in the same city as you. Three chains were to run simultaneously, and so
the fun began!!
I was
lucky to get tagged by Swarnali, and in a short while, I received a beautiful
gift and thoughtful letter, written in Swarnali’s hand. Can you believe that,
an actual hand written letter? I can’t remember the last time I got one! And
that’s not all, she even included a cute little gift for Cub, and boy, was he
delighted!! I grabbed the letter and started reading it, feeling a warm glow
all over, till the part where the bracelets were mentioned. And then I opened
the box to see these lovely bracelets, in a beautiful black box!
Aren’t
they both gorgeous!! Although I have to admit, this one is my favorite :)
And
here’s how it looks on me:
A look at
the whole package:
Here’s a
close up of Cub’s gift:
I had to
struggle to keep him from opening it till I took pictures :). Soon after, the
Angry Birds were all lined up like this:
I think
this was the day I was the most glad that I started blogging :). In addition to
the pleasure writing gives me, I have found friends whom I can connect
with, without having to travel miles or making arrangements for babysitting.
To you,
dear Swarnali, and the IB admins and others behind the Chain Mail idea, I have
just this to say:
18 comments
Swarnali is a gem of a person, and I was fortunate enough to be associated with her during my schooling days....Good friends like you and Swarnali helps and encourages me to churn out a post atleast once in 3 months, else my blog would have been dead long time ago.
ReplyDeleteYes, she definitely is!!! Please do not kill your blog!! I like reading your posts, and look forward to more in the future!!
DeleteOMG!!! How you praise me!! :P This was so so sweet ^_^ I'm so glad I know you, Fabida. I really hope I get to meet you and Cub someday. Thank you so much, this is the sweetest thing ever.
DeleteAnd Thripti chechi, you are the sweetest. I love reading your blog and I wish you could write more...I really miss reading it. Please come back soon.
*tight hug to both of you*
Oh and congrats on crossing the 100 followers barrier...I had been checking up for soooo long to see the hundredth one...it was stuck at 99 for like forever...*cheers* :D
DeleteThank you!!! For a while I was obsessed with it, and even considered running a giveaway if just to see it reach a 100 :) After a while, I let it go and then I didn't even realize it cross the century mark!
DeleteHahaha...I remember how crazy I got...but it felt so awesome after that :D congrats again <3
DeleteHi Opal, if you are reading this, I have been a regular reader at your space since a long time, definitely more than 2 years :D. i love love love your blog, the reason I am not a follower is because I never found follow by email or bloglovin's widget on your blog. :P so i always come via Google. This should tell you that you have dedicated readers, and I really hope that you continue blogging and start posting more! :) waiting for more fabulous earrings posts :D
DeleteVery warm and touching! :) I liked cub's gifts even more :D Loved swarnali's blog too :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Srishty!! Yup, I love reading Swarnali's blog too, you get some really cool, unexpected posts to read!!
Delete100 followers! That's wonderful. Congratulations, Fabida.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love thoughtful gift put together - with a lovely handwritten note too. How nice! :)
Thank you, Corinne!!! It was truly a thoughtful gift, and no email or FB message can compare to the warmth of a hand written letter!
DeleteThose bracelets are pretty! You are a lucky girl Masha Allah!
ReplyDeleteThey certainly are pretty!! And yes, I am blessed to have friends like you guys :)
DeleteReally pretty gifts! I can imagine how happy you would have been :)
ReplyDeleteI really was, Ramya!! Especially on reading the letter!
DeleteSalaam dear,
ReplyDeleteLovely bracelets, especially the gold bangle.
I actually really like the erasers too, my kids are crazy about angry birds and have very similar ones.
Yup, the gold one caught my eye immediately! My son has Angry Birds T shirts, toys, coloring books and now erasers!! I honestly don't know what's so great about them :).
DeleteSuch beautiful gifts and a letter that melts your heart. I am so grateful for this IB initiative that has only spread love and sunshine.
ReplyDelete